Frozen water containers with liquid dispenser for camping

ABSTRACT

A thin wall open top container comprised of a rectangular receptacle formed of a shaped retaining plastic material, a thin wall lid formed of plastic material having a downwardly directed female force fit fastener around the entire periphery of the lid, the receptacle having an upwardly extending male bead edge over which the female fastener is forced to create an air-tight releasable union. Thus, each such container may be easily filled with water and the water readily frozen at home. Each frozen container is then used to cool food in a camper or the like and, when the water melts, it is a source of potable liquid. The bottom of the container is of reduced dimensions to enable stacking of one said container above another in stable fashion. A cavity area located at the edge intersection where the front wall joins the bottom conceals a dispensing spout with valve for dispensing the water once it has melted and a vertical recess in the rear wall of the container allows placement of a glass or the like therein directly below the spout of a second, top container whereby the glass may be filled with melted water and used for human consumption.

United States Patent [191 Page [4 1 4 Jan. 1,1974

[ FROZEN WATER CONTAINERS WITH LIQUID DISPENSER FOR CAMPING [76] Inventor: Michael E. Page, 4243 W. 3250 South, Granger, Utah 84120 22 Filed: Mar. 14, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 340,999

Primary Examiner Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-H. Grant Skaggs, Jr. Att0rneyLynn G. Foster 5 7 ABSTRACT A thin wall open top container comprised of a rectangular receptacle formed of a shaped retaining plastic material, a thin wall lid formed of plastic material having a downwardly directed female force fit fastener around the entire periphery of the lid, the receptacle having an upwardly extending male bead edge over which the female fastener is forced to create an airtight releasable union. Thus, each such container may be easily filled with water and the water readily frozen at home. Each frozen container is then used to cool food in a camper or the like and, when the water melts, it is a source of potable liquid. The bottom of the container is of reduced dimensions to enable stacking of one said container above another in stable fashion. A cavity area located at the edge intersection where the front wall joins the bottom conceals a dispensing spout with valve for dispensing the water once it has melted and a vertical recess in the rear wall of the container allows placement of a glass or the like therein directly below the spout of a second, top container whereby the glass may be filled with melted water and used for human consumption.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATEHTEU JAN H 4 FIG.

FROZEN WATER CONTAINERS WITH LIQUID DISPENSER FOR CAMPING BACKGROUND 1. Field of Invention This invention relates generally to containers for camping and more particularly to stackable frozen water containers, with water dispenser, suitable for use in campers to first cool food stuffs and upon melting, as a source of drinking water.

2. Prior Art Containers for frozen liquids, whether water or otherwise, have been known for many years. However, none of the prior art containers afford the convenience or utility of this invention. Some containers have not 'been stackable and therefore require considerable more space in which to store an adequate supply of frozen liquids. Other prior art containers are not equipped with lids, which enable a user to rapidly fill the container with water and later extract ice from the container. Still other prior art containers do not have a dispensing. spout which will enable dispensing of the melted liquid in the exact amount desired with a maximum of convenience. None of the prior art containers have provided a top and bottom vertically extending recess on one end wall with a spout concealed in a small cavity on the opposite end wall when two such containers are vertically stacked with the full recess below the spout and cavity. A drinking cup, glass, or other liquid receptacle may be placed within the full recess of the lower container and the spout manually opened to fill the glass with melted liquid from the top container. When one of the two containers is empty the positions of the containers may be reversed and the assemblage rotated 180 degrees whereupon drinking water from th fifill container may be obtained.

Many containers of the prior art have been formed of a material which was subject to easy breakage, either in the freezing process, where expansion occurs, or during handling or use.

Of the containers of the prior art which were equipped with dispensing spouts, some of said spouts protruded from the container, creating a site for snagging of clothing or bumping, thereby making the dispenser subject to breakage and requiring more space for proper storage.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION The indicated disadvantages of the prior art have been overcome by the present invention and a compact, convenient container is provided to initially furnish a source of cooling for food stuff when camping and thereafter provide an adequate supply of easily accessible melted liquid such as water without possibility of damage to dispenser or to clothing of the user.

The advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing a vertically stackable, dispensing container comprising a rectangular open top receptacle formed of semi-rigid plastic material, a force-fit lid formed of flexible plastic material, a cavity in the bottom front edge of the container in which is disposed a dispensing valve and spout for dispensing melted liquid, a top to bottom recess vertically disposed in the back wall of the container for the purpose of receiving a cup, glass or the like, two such containers being compactly vertically stacked in opposite horizontal orientation with the spout and valve of one above the vertical recess of the other whereby the glass can be readily filled by force of gravity; accommodating easy filling and freezing at home, ready placement in the ice box compartment of a camper or the like to cool food stuff, and facile dispensing of melted water.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved container for storing frozen liquids and dispensing melted liquid, whether water or otherwise.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container for frozen liquids which is particularly adaptable foruse in campers first as a coolant and later, after melting as a source of potable liquid.

A further object is to provide a container for frozen liquids which is easily filled and frozen at home and which enables storage of a maximum amount of frozen liquid in a minimum area of space.

An additional object is to provide a container for frozen liquids with an improved dispenser for the liquid when melted.

Another object is to provide a container for frozen liquids, with a valve and spout disposed in a side/bottom cavity, which eliminates the hazard of injury to the clothing or person of the user or damage to the dispenser or container.

A further object is to provide a frozen liquid storage system comprising two (or more) vertically stacked containers which will enable extraction of one-half the entire supply once melted while the two container stack remains in its original stacked position, and the remaining one-half upon reversing the vertical locations of the two and upon horizontally rotating the restacked containers These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view looking at the front of a presently preferred container of the present invention particularly illustrating the shape of the container, the lid, and a dispensing spout with valve;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along lines '3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the dispensing spout, the front edge spout cavity, the vertical rear wall recess and a male/female press fit union between the receptacle and the lid; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of three containers, of the configuration shown in FIG. 1, vertically stacked one on top of another illustrating the type of stacking re quired to readily dispense melted liquid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT In that form of the present invention chosen for purposzs of illustration, FIG. 1 depicts a container, generally designated 4, for frozen liquids used to cool food stufis in campers and the like. The container consists of two main parts, i.e. a tank or receptacle 25, which is hollow as shown at 17, and a lid 13, which is removable from the tank 25. The lid 13 may be easily pried from its female/male rotation with bead 22 to allow easy filling of the hollow 17 of tank 25 with water or other suitable liquid following which the lid may be replaced in the position shown in FIG. 3 and the container 4 deposited upright in a freezer or freezing compartmentof a refrigerator in the users home. The tank 25 comprises a front relatively thin vertical wall 26, a back relatively thin vertical wall 16, two relatively thin side walls 20 and a bottom wall 19, all preferably formed as one piece by injection molding. The top edge of the walls of the receptacle 25 comprises a continu ous male bead 22. The bottom 19 joins each vertical wall of the tank 25 across a stepped offset 18. The offset 18 is dimensioned so that the bottom of one container 4 may rest upon the top wall 21 of the lid of another container 4 essentially contiguous with the U- shaped edge 23 which forms the female recess 23.

The lid 13 comprises the mentioned top wall 21 and the edges of the lid 13 terminate in a female groove 23 formed by the U-shaped edge 23. The groove 23 is disposed in manually releasable force fit air-tight relation with bead 22 when assembled. An air vent port 70 is located in the top wall 21 of the lid directly above the cavity. Port 70 is normally closed by a press fit cap 72, the cap 72 being tethered to the lid 13 at 74 to-prevent loss. Thus, when the spout 40 is to be actuated, the port 70 is uncapped to allow air to reach the interior of the tank 25 as water flows from the spout 40. At the edge where the bottom 19 joins the front wall 26, is disposed a cavity 14 which houses a valve operated spout, generally designated 40, useful for extracting melted liquid from the container. The spout will be described in greater detail hereinafter in connection with FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 shows in top plan view the container 4 and best illustrates the semi-circular vertical recess of the tank 25, which extends from top to bottom. The lid 13 is also recessed at 15 to conform exactly with recess 15. In this regard, FIG. 4 best illustrates the preferred stacking arrangement for multiple containers according to the present invention wherein the bottom container has the recesses 15 and 15 directly below the cavity 14 so that upon actuation of spout 40, melted liquid from within the container will be displaced by force of gravity into'a glass 62 or the like. This event can be accomplished when theliquid within the top container is fully or partially melted.'Once melting has occurred and all of the melted liquid dispensed from one container, the bottom container may be placed above the empty container in the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 whereupon liquid from the elevated container may be dispensed as described.

With reference to FIG. 3, the spout assembly 40 comprises an outside valve housing 43 having a proximal flange 27 beyond which extends a male threaded region 64 which fit through an aperture 29 in the vertical wall portion 28 of the receptacle at the cavity 14 such that the flange 27 firmly abuts the cavity wall 28 adjacent the aperture 29. The spout assembly 40 further comprises an inside valve housing 33 which is cup shaped and has internal threads 66 which receive and mate with the threads 64 of the housing 43. The housing 33 also comprises a flange 30 which abuts the inside of the cavity wall 28 adjacent the aperture 29. The space 68 exists in the housing 30 to allow for operation of a valve hereinafter described, the space 68 receiving melted liquid from the tank 25 through influent ports 31.

The external housing 43 of the spout assembly 40 defines at its proximal end a valve seat 34 and a hollow interior 70. The hollow interior 70 is placed in fluid communication with the space 68 when the valve is open so that melted liquid is dispensed through the downwardly extending effluent port or nozzle 37. The distal end of the housing 43 comprises a finger gripping extension 41. A plunger is situated longitudinally within the hollow of the housing 43 the center line of which is common with the center line of the housing 43. The plunger 35 comprises an elongated central stem 35', a valve head 43 adapted to mate with the valve seat 34 disposed at the proximal end of the .plunger 35, and a thumb-actuated head 42. The head 42 is exposed beyond the exterior of the spout assembly 40 and is sealed by an end cap 39 through which the stem 35 extends. The end cap 39 is threadedly secured to the hollow 70 of the housing 43 with a seal 38 disposed in a recess within the cap 39 adjacent the stem. A compression spring 36 abuts a valve stem flange 54 which is fixed to the stem 35' and an internal flange 53 of the valve housing 43. Thus, when the thumbactuated head 42 is displaced inwardly by the user, the valve head 32 will be displaced to the left as viewed in FIG. 3 away from its valve seat 34 permitting melted liquid to move through the influent ports 31 into the space 68, between the valve head 32 and its seat 34 into the hollow 70 of the housing 43 and out the port or nozzle 37 into the glass 62. When pressure upon the thumb-actuated head 42 is released, the spring 36 will cause the valve head 32 to seal upon the valve seat 34, as illustrated in FIG. 3, terminating the flow of water.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A container for frozen liquid with dispenser for camping and the like comprising:

a hollow receptacle of shape-retaining biologically inert plastic in which liquid is frozen and used to cool food stuff comprising:

a relatively thin bottom wall;

opposed relatively thin spaced vertical side walls;

a relatively thin front wall;

a generally convex relatively thin wall extending into the hollow of the receptacle defining a cavity and bridging centrally between the front wall and the bottom wall;

a relatively thin vertical back wall defining a vertical extending central water glass receiving recess spanning the entire back wall;

a reduced dimensioned reverse curve offset connecting each said vertical wall and the convex wall to the bottom wall;

four comers connecting said side walls to the front and back walls respectively;

the top edge of all said vertical walls comprising a male bead fastener;

valved spout situated at the cavity and communicating melted liquid through the convex wall from the receptacle to the exterior thereof;

a lid of flexible biologically inert plastic comprising:

a relatively thin top wall;

a U-shaped periphery around the edge of the top wall;

a downwardly opening female groove fastener which is releasably force fit over said male bead fastener to seal the receptacle after it is filled with water to be frozen.

2. An assemblage of at least two containers for frozen liquid with dispenser for camping and the like, each container comprising:

a hollow receptacle of shape-retaining biologically inert plastic in which liquid is frozen and used to cool food stuff comprising:

a relatively thin bottom wall;

opposed relatively thin spaced vertical side walls;

a relatively thin front wall;

a generally convex relatively thin wall extending into the hollow of the receptacle defining a cavity and bridging centrally between the front wall and the bottom wall;

a relatively thin vertical back wall defining a vertical extending central water glass receiving recess spanning the entire back wall;

a reduced dimensioned reverse curve offset conmeeting each said vertical wall and the convex wall to the bottom wall;

four corners connecting said side walls to the front and back walls respectively;

the top edge of all said vertical walls comprising a male bead fastener;

a valved spout situated at the cavity and communicating melted liquid through the convex wall from the receptacle to the exterior thereof;

a lid of flexible biologically inert plastic comprising:

a relatively thin top wall;

a U-shaped periphery around the edge of the top wall;

a downwardly opening female groove fastener which is releasably force fit over said male bead fastener to seal the receptacle after it is filled with water to be frozen;

the bottom of one container resting on the top of the other container, the horizontal orientation of one container being opposite that of the horizontal orientation of the other whereby the cavity and spout of the top container are disposed above the central rear wall recess of the bottom container whereby a water glass may be placed in. the central recess of the bottom container and filled with melted liquid,

when available, dispensed from the top container through the spout thereof under force of gravity. 

1. A container for frozen liquid with dispenser for camping and the like comprising: a hollow receptacle of shape-retaining biologically inert plastic in which liquid is frozen and used to cool food stuff comprising: a relatively thin bottom wall; opposed relatively thin spaced vertical side walls; a relatively thin front wall; a generally convex relatively thin wall extending into the hollow of the receptacle defining a cavity and bridging centrally between the front wall and the bottom wall; a relatively thin vertical back wall defining a vertical extending central water glass receiving recess spanning the entire back wall; a reduced dimensioned reverse curve offset connecting each said vertical wall and the convex wall to the bottom wall; four corners connecting said side walls to the front and back walls respectively; the top edge of all said vertical walls comprising a male bead fastener; a valved spout situated at the cavity and communicating melted liquid through the convex wall from the receptacle to the exterior thereof; a lid of flexible biologically inert plastic comprising: a relatively thin top wall; a U-shaped periphery around the edge of the top wall; a downwardly opening female groove fastener which is releasably force fit over said male bead fastener to seal the receptacle after it is filled with water to be frozen.
 2. An assemblage of at least two containers for frozen liquid with dispenser for camping and the like, each container comprising: a hollow receptacle of shape-retaining biologically inert plastic in which liquid is frozen and used to cool food stuff comprising: a relatively thin bottom wall; opposed relatively thin spaced vertical side walls; a relatively thin front wall; a generally convex relatively thin wall extending into the hollow of the receptacle defining a cavity and bridging centrally between the front wall and the bottom wall; a relatively thin vertical back wall defining a vertical extending central water glass receiving recess spanning the entire back wall; a reduced dimensioned reverse curve offset connecting Each said vertical wall and the convex wall to the bottom wall; four corners connecting said side walls to the front and back walls respectively; the top edge of all said vertical walls comprising a male bead fastener; a valved spout situated at the cavity and communicating melted liquid through the convex wall from the receptacle to the exterior thereof; a lid of flexible biologically inert plastic comprising: a relatively thin top wall; a U-shaped periphery around the edge of the top wall; a downwardly opening female groove fastener which is releasably force fit over said male bead fastener to seal the receptacle after it is filled with water to be frozen; the bottom of one container resting on the top of the other container, the horizontal orientation of one container being opposite that of the horizontal orientation of the other whereby the cavity and spout of the top container are disposed above the central rear wall recess of the bottom container whereby a water glass may be placed in the central recess of the bottom container and filled with melted liquid, when available, dispensed from the top container through the spout thereof under force of gravity. 